First Day of School

Today was Elena's first day of school.  A half day mind you, until she starts the full day on Tuesday which includes an extended day afterschool program at the Lincoln School in Melrose.  It's funny to me, as I went to Maury School, who was a pall bearer at Robert E. Lee's funeral.

I don't usually write about education, except maybe as a piece of infrastructure in public policy as it just feels like work to me and I don't need my personal views wrapped up with that of my employer and those I serve.  That being said, it's a special day to me as my daughter goes on a potential amazing journey.

Public education is the great leveller, the answer to most societal problems.  Access to education all over America has grown greatly over the past 100 years as the United States grew from a agricultural/industrial nation to a complex economy required a large range of skills and knowledge. But education is far beyond the knowledge and skills required to get a job that will support you, your family and the American economy but also a voyage of personal emotional and spiritual growth. 

Just in the past few days, it seems like Elena has started reading, that love of decoding and comprehension that are the keys to the acquisition of knowledge.  Standing in the school yard watching the kids new and old ready to begin a new experience in their lives, a transformational experience for families and educators, I think of the embryonic nature of the American dream personified by backpacks and pencils.

Besides this access to a modern school house and a safe and consistent afterschool program, we are blessed as an upper middle class family with opportunities to supplement this education, through our own experiences, museums and other cultural, historical and educational experiences. There is no doubt in my mind that these experiences as use of our family leisure time will increase her capacity and potential for learning.  Also it bring to me an understanding that this blessing is unlikely shared by a great number of families.  It's these families I often think about in my work, how to break these multi-generational cycles of poverty.

Education is a life long journey, I find the more I learn and get to know the more holes I see in my own education across the spectrum, in places that I would be considered an "expert" as well as those such as science and programming that I am very ignorant. I look forward to learning along with my kids on new developments in the world of learning.  It is an incredible look forward at what can be.

Education is an incredible investment in the future of this country.